The wonderful 12th century Romanesque doorway at Killeshin Church, Laois

Located close to the border with Co. Carlow, the small medieval church at Killeshin, Co. Laois contains a remarkable piece of Romanesque architecture. It consists of an elaborately decorated doorway in the western gable wall of the ruined church. Most likely erected between 1150 and 1160 AD, an inscription on the doorway reads ‘Orait do Diarmait Ri Lagen‘ or ‘a prayer for Diarmait, king of Leinster’. This suggests that Diarmait Mac Murchada, a somewhat controversial figure in Irish history, may have commissioned the entrance. Although worn in places, the door still contains a wide range of decorative motifs, including complex interlace, geometric and foliate designs as well human and animal figures. You can garner a flavour of some these wonderfully intricate carvings in the images below.

A face , foliate design and a cat

A beared face above the doorway

A series of faces

A face looks out from a door pillar

A series of decorative panels

Geometric designs on the doorway arch

Part of the dedication to Diarmait Mac Murchada

The elaborate door pillars

A decorative panel

A series of decorative panels

A series of human faces

An illustration of what the panels may have originally looked like (OPW)